Bulk transportation of cartoned goods usually involves stacking cartons on a platform or pallet to form a rectangular six sided prism. Such a palletized load is frequently secured with straps to retain its integrity. The pallet or platform represents a sufficient investment to warrant its reuse thereby requiring its return. The weight and size of pallets is sufficient to be a factor in shipping cost. Consequently, unitized loads which do not include a pallet are desirable.
The use of a single wrap of heat shrinkable, heat sealable plastic to unitize a load is known and is shown in such U.S. patents as U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,476 to Ehrenfried et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,777 to Pesch; U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,434 to Zelnick; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,116 Ingmarson. Double wrapping with bands of paper narrower than the prism is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,871 to Kieckhefer and U.S. Pat. No. 3,253,379 to Foradora. A single heat-shrinkable wrap with the addition of inserts for the exposed top and bottom faces is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,048 to Zelnick and U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,649 to Close et al.